Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 3, 1993 TAG: 9303030016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: THOMAS G. BAKER JR.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
LAST BILLS WERE FAR FROM LEAST
The 1993 Session of the General Assembly wound down to a close Saturday. Last week, the House took up numerous controversial bills and, finally, some bills with real substance.The "AIDS" reporting bill passed the Senate and awaits the governor's signature. This measure will require police officers and correctional officers to be notified when they are asked to keep or transport people with infectious diseases.
Also, my bill dealing with child witnesses passed the Senate on Tuesday and awaits the governor's signature. This measure will provide that no witness will be disqualified from testifying solely because of age. This should go a long way toward increased prosecution of child abusers.
The House also acted on Senate Joint Resolution 256, which provides that school boards are to be encouraged to include reference to Easter and Christmas in recognizing school holidays. I think Christmas and Easter should be used and recognized as traditional symbols of the holidays. I voted for the bill and was happy to see it pass 86 to 10.
In other areas, the House rejected a Senate resolution that would have opened the door to allowing elected school boards to have taxing authority. I remain one of the strongest supporters of elected school boards in the Legislature. However, I do not believe an elected school board should be able to raise taxes to fulfill campaign promises. Neither should school board members.
The House also made some headway in raising additional money to confront school funding disparity. Last week, a bill was amended to provide that $20 million of the recordation tax money be returned to less-affluent school districts. Pulaski, Giles and Radford will benefit from this effort. Although modest, every dollar we can get will help.
In gun bill action last week, the House passed the so-called "compromise bill," which will allow multiple handgun purchases with state police permission. The bill also will prohibit multiple purchases between friends and family members. I voted against the measure. Yet another vote was anticipated later in the week.
The Senate also amended the "streetsweeper" shotgun ban bill to include the "Tec 9" pistol. I voted against this bill. Its passage, as amended, would put us one step away from efforts to ban all handguns. The Senate amendment was rejected and sent back to them.
The final budget package was presented to the full House Thursday afternoon. Highlights include a much more generous pay raise to state employees than they have seen for several years. On the average, classified state employees will receive a 6.8 percent raise. College faculty will receive approximately 3.55 percent, with teachers, correctional officers and some others getting approximately 3 percent.
The budget proposal also includes $4.9 million for local libraries and $1.3 million in additional money for deputy sheriffs and constitutional officers, including a new deputy clerk's position in the Giles County Clerk's office pursuant to my budget effort.
The budget also includes amendments I carried to fund the new Radford University College of Global Studies and to replace library computer equipment. The budget also includes a half-million dollars in matching fund money for such areas as Radford, Newport News and Hampton to assist with defense-related unemployment.
Thomas G. Baker Jr., R-Radford, represents Radford, Pulaski County and part of Giles County in the Virginia House of Delegates.